LAS VEGAS — Sprouts Farmers Market CEO Jack Sinclair took the main stage at Groceryshop 2025 with a bold message: In a grocery industry crowded with sameness, Sprouts will win by putting fresh produce and food innovation front and center. From smaller, open-concept stores that spotlight fruits and vegetables to an expanding network of distribution centers that keep organics fresher, Sinclair says the grocer is doubling down on what makes it different — while aiming to grow from 450 to as many as 1,400 stores nationwide.
“Fresh produce is 20% of our sales,” Sinclair says. “And organic fresh produce is now up to 55% to 60% of that 20%. Getting speed from A to B as fast as you possibly can is critical.” To that end, Sprouts is investing heavily in new distribution centers in Florida, Colorado and southern California, with more to come, ensuring stores stay within 250 miles of fresh supply.
Since joining Sprouts in 2019, Sinclair says he has focused on what he calls the company’s “unique DNA” — open, low-profile stores with sight lines that showcase fresh produce, paired with vitamins, supplements and bulk foods. Sprouts is now on its sixth store prototype, designed to be smaller and more navigable.
“We’re pretty unique as a grocery store anywhere in the world,” he says. “You can see right through to the produce.”
A standout of the Sprouts strategy is its innovation pipeline. Each store features a rotating “innovation center,” where 30 to 40 new items debut monthly. That effort is led by the company’s chief foraging officer, tasked with scouting novel products from entrepreneurial food brands.
“We want to be the founding ground for these new, interesting ideas,” Sinclair says. “Two or three years later, they might be in every supermarket, but our goal is to launch them first.”
Even as Sprouts grows, targeting as many as 1,400 U.S. stores from today’s 450, Sinclair insists the grocer won’t try to be a one-stop shop. Instead, Sprouts is comfortable coexisting next to traditional grocers, drawing in wellness-driven shoppers who make targeted trips.
“Our customer base probably spends about 13% of their grocery dollars with us,” Sinclair says. “We don’t need 100%. We just need a few more.”
Digital sales, which surged from 2% to 15% during the pandemic, have held steady, with fresh produce still making up the same share of online baskets as in-store purchases. That trust in quality is rare, Sinclair notes, and underpins Sprouts’ new loyalty program, rolling out nationwide this fall.
Amid inflationary pressures, Sinclair struck a confident tone. “Our pricing on fresh produce will be really aggressive, and even more so on organics,” he says. “If you’re a vegan, you stay vegan no matter what the price of gas is.”
For Sinclair, the path forward is clear: lean into Sprouts’ identity, double down on produce and make the store an engine of food innovation.
“Customers are more discerning than ever about what’s in their food,” he says. “That’s an opportunity we intend to lead.”
